Is it worth buying a house with aluminum wiring ?

Question

We found a potential good deal off-market here in NW Florida. The house was built in the 1970s and has aluminum wiring - and I'm hoping someone has some experience with this.

I talked with my insurance agent - and he has one company that will insure it for a price.  If we bought the property, our thought would be to repair/replace the wiring, then renegotiate a lower insurance price.

Questions:

• Any advice about buying a house with aluminum wiring?
• Should we plan on repairing with connectors, or completely replace the wiring?
• How much should we estimate to pay for repairing OR replacing? (3/2, 1950 sq ft, slab on grade, 1 story)

I would just walk away from this deal - but I know we're going to find other houses with the same issue.  Maybe we should just walk away? :)

Russell Brazil · Answer

There are multiple ways to fix the issue....just have all the contact points pigtailed with copper. Its like $150 at each point or so. I have 2 rentals with aluminum wiring, its not that big a deal. If the house your buying has it, literally, the entire subdivision does, so its a flaw they all have, and the market has priced that in.

Mark Bosworth · Answer

My parents house in Gulf Breeze had the same problem.  I think they had to pay an electrician $3K to fix it?  (It was in that range)  The best fix is to just upgrade the terminations.  The problem with aluminum is that is so soft that it "flows" over time.  So tight screw connections become loose and then heat up and create heat.  Consequently, there is no need to replace all the wires because a continuous wire conducts electricity just fine -  the only problem is where the wire terminates.   So you just need special terminations that connect the aluminum wire to a copper wire for termination.

I'd look at aluminum wire as a way to get a better deal on the property.  Lots of buyers will be scared off and you can use it as a bargaining chip.  Go for it, but just get an estimate from an electrician on how much it will cost to fix.  Then when you fix it, any insurance company will take you on.

Go for it!

Eric Wiinanen · Answer

@Mark Bosworth

That is helpful to know. I worry about the long term issues that could come up.  You're right though that this is a good bargaining chip.  The one issue still is that electricians around here are very busy - and it could be months before one is available to do the work, which slows down the rehab time.  Thanks for the encouragement!!

Eric Wiinanen · Answer

@Russell Brazil

Thanks for the info! Makes sense.